There IS a single surviving Gibson factory document which describes production totals for the year 1925. But, only in broad categories (e.g. mandolins, mandolas, guitars, etc.- it is not broken down by model). This factory document is in the form of a hand-written spreadsheet and indicates that 1,195 mandolins were produced in the year 1925.
I have produced the following estimated production, using my own private serial number list in which I can document about 230 instruments from the year 1925 (or about 11% of the predicted total 1925 production). I gathered this information over many decades, and from various sources, (e.g. instruments I have personally inspected, information sent to me, internet websites and original Gibson factory documents). Please remember, these are only estimates, based on a reconstruction of 11% of the original data. However the total estimated number of mandolins produced from my calculations is 1,200, which comes very close to being in agreement with the actual total.
Joe Spann
A 300 units
A-Jr. 240 units
A-2z 200 units
A-4 180 units
F-2 40 units
F-4 240 units
F-5 none
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